Philippines typhoon aftermath: Religion as solace

By Jethro Mullen, CNN

Updated 0612 GMT (1412 HKT) November 18, 2013

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Typhoon Haiyan: When religion is solace – The storm ripped off most of the roof of Santo Nino Church. But the altar is still largely intact. Masses resumed the day after the typhoon and are now being held two or three times a day, said Father Isagani Petilos, one of the two senior pastors at the church.

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Typhoon Haiyan: When religion is solace – The day after the typhoon, Father Edwin Bacaltos' self-appointed task was to bless the bodies that lay scattered around his parish.

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Typhoon Haiyan: When religion is solace – Joan Norcio, 26, says her home has been destroyed and three members of her family are still missing. She's received no food from authorities, relying on the charity of her neighbors instead. Attending Mass at Santo Nino has been "a big help" during this time, she said.

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Typhoon Haiyan: When religion is solace – Arsenia Orioque, 74, had come to the church to pray and to take advantage of the medical services being offered there each afternoon. She seldom came to church before the storm struck, but now she says she can find peace there. "In my prayers, I give thanks that I survived the typhoon," she said.

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Story highlights

The day after the typhoon, Father Edwin Bacaltos' task was to bless the dead

Religion is offering some solace for those who have suffered losses

The missionary has provided food and shelter to more than 300 families

God had perhaps decided to punish Tacloban, says Father Bacaltos

The day after the typhoon, Father Edwin Bacaltos stepped out of the compound of the Church of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in central Tacloban and began his work.

The scene was one of unspeakable horror. Dead bodies were strewn all over the place. The debris of shattered buildings and their contents filled the street.

Father Bacaltos' self-appointed task that day was to bless the bodies that lay scattered around his parish.

He crossed the road to the hospital opposite the church compound, tending to each of the corpses in its grounds. He then moved onto other areas that weren't blocked off by walls of wreckage.

His day of work took a heavy mental toll.

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Photos: Typhoon Haiyan – A man reconstructs his house in the bay of Tacloban, Leyte province, Philippines, on Wednesday, November 27, 2013. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms on record, hit the country's eastern seaboard on November 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction, including more than 5,000 deaths.

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Photos: Typhoon Haiyan – A man rests on his damaged house along the shore in Tacloban on Monday, November 25.

Typhoon Haiyan – Local people begin to help clear debris near the shoreline where several tankers ran aground on November 23 in Leyte. The death toll from the storm stands at more than 5,000, according to a government-run news agency.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man clears debris from in front of his home near the shoreline on November 23 in Leyte.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Groups of men clear debris near the shoreline on November 23 in Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan inspect the damage to their houses in Tacloban, Philippines, on Friday, November 22.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Filpinos clear rubble from a hard-hit area in Tacloban on November 22.

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Typhoon Haiyan – An airplane lands in Tacloban as Antonio Lacasa rebuilds his house on Thursday, November 21.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People carry a coffin through an opening in the wall of a public cemetery for burial in Tacloban on November 21.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A member of the Philippine air force drops relief goods for survivors in Tolosa on November 21.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Children blow bubbles in a destroyed market in Tacloban on Wednesday, November 20.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Workers clear mud and debris in Tacloban on November 20.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A boy climbs across debris in Tacloban on November 20.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People at the airport in Tacloban react to a blast of wind from an aircraft on November 20.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man walks through water in the typhoon-ravaged city of Tacloban, Philippines, on November 20.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man sleeps on Tuesday, November 19, on a tanker that ran aground during Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Firemen unload bodies November 19 for forensic experts to register and bury in a mass grave outside of Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Firemen unload more victims outside of Tacloban on November 19.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man fans the flames of a fire in Tanauan, Philippines, on November 19.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors salvage wood next to stranded ships in Tacloban on November 19.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Philippine military personnel carry an injured survivor to an evacuation flight at the Tacloban airport November 19.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People in Tacloban march in the rain November 19 during a procession calling for courage and resilience among survivors.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People play cards by candlelight Monday, November 18, in Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A U.S. Navy helicopter delivers relief goods to typhoon victims in Ormoc, Philippines, on November 18.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Men take food back to their families in Leyte on November 18. Countries all over the world have pledged relief aid to those affected by the typhoon, but damage to airports and roads have made moving the aid very difficult.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People are held back as the U.S. Navy delivers aid from a helicopter in San Jose, Philippines, on November 18.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A helicopter flies over a call for help in Ormoc on November 18.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man cleans up mud inside a church in the hard-hit city of Tacloban on November 18.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A boy bathes November 18 at a Tacloban school turned into a temporary shelter.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Hundreds of typhoon survivors are packed into a U.S. military airplane November 18 for evacuation from Tacloban's airport.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Typhoon survivors run toward a passing U.S. Navy helicopter in San Jose on November 18.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A boy holding a toy machine gun sits Sunday, November 17, on a ship that ran aground in Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People gather around a helicopter as it delivers relief supplies November 17 in Guiuan, Philippines.

Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors clean mannequins found among the debris in Tacloban on November 17.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man leans against a statue of the Crucifixion before a Mass at Santo Nino Church in Tacloban on November 17.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man carries a piece of wood from the debris in Tacloban on November 17.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors wait in line in Tacloban for relief goods on November 17.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man looks over the devastation from his damaged home in Tacloban on November 17.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A trapped resident braves the dust created by a U.S. Navy helicopter taking off Saturday, November 16, on Manicani Island, Philippines.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Corpses are collected and loaded on trucks to be taken to mass graves in Tacloban on November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A victim's corpse floats on a river in Tanauan on November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A pregnant survivor waits to give birth in a hospital November 16 in Tanauan.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A dead dog lies in front of a house destroyed by the typhoon in Tanauan.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man carries a bicycle as he walks through the ruins of a Tacloban building November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors of the typhoon stand in a Tanauan street partially blocked by debris November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – An elderly survivor walks past toppled cars outside a church in Tacloban on November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man in Tanauan cleans meat after slaughtering his only cow that survived the typhoon.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors gather in Tacloban to await transport to a neighboring province on November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Men carry a coffin toward a Leyte cemetery on November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A survivor cooks dinner in front of his damaged home in Marabut, Philippines, on Friday, November 15.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Toppled coconut trees dot a mountain in an area devastated by the typhoon in Leyte province.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A typhoon survivor keeps her husband alive by manually pumping air into his lungs after his leg was amputated at a Tacloban hospital November 15. The hospital has been operating without power since the typhoon.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A survivor reacts to the damage at a residential area in Tacloban on November 15.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Typhoon victims are treated in the lobby of a Tacloban hospital on November 15.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Philippine Army soldiers carry the body of a civilian in Tanauan on November 15.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Residents wait to board a Singaporean cargo plane at the Tacloban airport on November 15. Many survivors have converged on the city's airport to wait for flights.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Search and retrieval teams carry a body bag in Tacloban on November 15.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Haiyan survivors carry food that a U.S. military helicopter dropped off in Guiuan on Thursday, November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Dozens of bodies are placed near Tacloban City Hall on November 14 as workers prepare a mass grave on the outskirts of the hard-hit city.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A girl plays inside her house amid the devastation in Tacloban on November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A Filipino soldier hands out bread to survivors in Maraboth, Philippines, on November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A boy takes cover from rain while waiting for an evacuation flight from Tacloban's airport November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Workers arrange bodies at a mass burial site at a Tacloban cemetery November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – The weary wait for evacuation from Tacloban on November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A truck lies in the water in Hernani, Philippines, on November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Children play with fallen power lines near a damaged school in Guiuan on November 14.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Teresa Mazeda hangs laundry in the ruins of her Tacloban home on Wednesday, November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Nina Duran searches for belongings at her family's destroyed house in Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors walk through the ruins of their neighborhood outside Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man sits in front of his destroyed business November 13 in Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A family, desperate to charge their mobile phones to search for family and friends, tries to use a ceiling fan to generate electricity November 13 in the Philippine province of Cebu.

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Typhoon Haiyan – An injured man in Tacloban rests beneath a picture of Jesus Christ on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man takes a shower amid the rubble in Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A rescue team wades into Tacloban floodwater to retrieve a body on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Residents take shelter in a Tacloban church on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Residents make their way through a destroyed neighborhood in Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A boy cycles past a coffin left on a street in Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man looks at his destroyed home November 13 in Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Body bags are lined up in Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors prepare to board a military plane November 13 at the Tacloban airport.

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Photos: Typhoon Haiyan – Men walk through smoke as they burn debris from a Tacloban church on November 16.

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Typhoon Haiyan – An aerial view of Tanuan shows signs pleading for help and food November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Soldiers help a woman after she collapsed November 13 while waiting in line to board a military plane at Tacloban's airport.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors wait to be evacuated from Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – An injured survivor gets carried on a stretcher before being airlifted from Tacloban's airport November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A survivor begins to rebuild his house in Tacloban on November 13.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Evacuees wait to board a military aircraft in Leyte on Tuesday, November 12.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People walk through damage in Tacloban on November 12.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A young man waits at the airport November 12 in hopes of being evacuated from Tacloban.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A woman comforts a crying relative as a plane leaves the Tacloban airport November 12.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A man sits crying on a packed aircraft in Tacloban on November 12.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Debris lays scattered around a damaged home near the Tacloban airport on November 12.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A girl sits inside a bus as she waits for a ferry in Matnog, Philippines, on November 12.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Police line up bodies for processing in Tacloban on November 12.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People in Tacloban pass debris on November 11.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Survivors in Tacloban board a military plane bound for the Philippine capital of Manila on November 11.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Residents carry bags of rice from a Tacloban warehouse that they stormed November 11 because of a food shortage.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A woman in Tacloban walks amid the debris of destroyed houses on November 11.

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Typhoon Haiyan – People make their way across a flooded street in Shangsi, China, on November 11. Haiyan moved toward Vietnam and south China after devastating the Philippines.

Typhoon Haiyan – A woman carries a baby across a river November 8 at a coastal village in Las Pinas, Philippines.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A resident walks along a fishing village in Bacoor, Philippines, on November 8.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A house in Legazpi, Philippines, is engulfed by storm surge November 8.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A child wraps himself in a blanket inside a makeshift house along a Bacoor fishing village.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A woman and her children head for an evacuation center November 8 amid strong winds in Cebu City, Philippines.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Huge waves from Haiyan hit the shoreline in Legazpi on November 8.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A fisherman lifts a post to reinforce his home at a coastal village in Las Pinas on November 8.

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Typhoon Haiyan – A resident unloads nets off a fishing boat in Bacoor on November 8.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Residents reinforce their homes in Las Pinas on November 8.

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Typhoon Haiyan – The storm approaches the Philippines in this satellite image taken Thursday, November 7, by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Workers bring down a billboard in Makati, Philippines, on November 7 before Haiyan makes landfall.

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Typhoon Haiyan – Philippine Coast Guard personnel stand in formation beside newly acquired rubber boats after a blessing ceremony in Manila on Wednesday, November 6. The boats were to be deployed to the central Philippines in preparation for Haiyan.

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"It was difficult for me," he said. "It was a really emotional experience."

The next day, he said, "When I celebrated the Eucharist, I broke down because of all the suffering I had seen."

Hundreds of survivors were taking refuge in the church compound, much of which withstood Super Typhoon Haiyan's ferocious winds and destructive storm surge.

Many of them asked the pastor how God could let such a calamity befall this predominantly Catholic city.

His response, he said, was to tell them that "God is not the cause of the suffering. God cannot prevent this. This is the work of nature."

But why it had to happen to Tacloban and its more than 200,000 residents, Father Bacaltos acknowledged, is "difficult to explain."

As the people who remain in this broken city attempt to come to terms with the catastrophe that engulfed them a week ago, religion is offering a degree of solace for some of those who have suffered incalculable losses.

It's also providing basic elements of community and support to residents of an area where local government ceased to fully function for several days and is still only slowly sputtering back into action.

In Santo Nino Church -- situated a few blocks north of Father Bacaltos' compound -- Joan Norcio, 26, sat on one of the wooden pews near the back, waiting for Mass to begin.

Her home has been destroyed, she said, and three members of her family are still missing. She's received no food from authorities, relying on the charity of her neighbors instead.

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Attending Mass at Santo Nino has been "a big help" during this time, she said, sitting solemnly next to a motherly neighbor and the neighbor's young son.

The storm ripped off most of the roof of the church. A large pool of dirty water sits in the center of the floor. And the adoration chapel is filled with brown sludge and broken chairs.

But the altar is still largely intact. Masses resumed the day after the typhoon and are now being held two or three times a day, said Father Isagani Petilos, one of the two senior pastors at the church.

Father Petilos, who also blessed the bodies in the area surrounding his church soon after the storm, said he didn't know if religion was helping the survivors endure the aftermath.

"Only God knows," he said. "Only these people know. We are all victims. There are whole families lost."

He and his colleagues have encouraged people to write the names of those killed in the storm on a board, so that they can be included in the congregation's prayers.

Norcio said she has made use of another board at the back of the church where people can put details about missing loved ones in the hope that others who might know of their whereabouts can alert them.

Sitting a few rows farther forward, Arsenia Orioque, 74, had come to the church to pray and to take advantage of the medical services being offered there each afternoon.

Since the storm washed out her home and mini-grocery store, she has developed a bad cough, she said. All her clothes were ruined, leaving her to wear a red t-shirt that a neighbor took for her from a nearby shopping mall during the looting in the typhoon's aftermath.

She seldom came to church before the storm struck, but now she says she can find peace there.

"In my prayers, I give thanks that I survived the typhoon," she said.

In the Philippines, more than 80% of the population describes itself as Roman Catholic, and only a tiny fraction of those surveyed in the national census say they have no religion at all.

Many of Tacloban residents feel close to the nation's Catholic history. In 1521, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed on Honmonhon Island, which sits on the Gulf of Leyte not far from Tacloban. Though he was eventually killed in a fight on another Philippine island, his arrival marked the beginning of the conversion of most of the archipelago to Catholicism.

The missionary spirit is alive and well in Father Bacaltos' chuch. It has provided food and shelter to more than 300 families since the storm, he said.

Inside the church, children played in the aisle and pieces of meat were cooking in a pan on a small fire.

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Families waiting for news from Tacloban

Sitting shirtless on one pew with a cigarette in his mouth, Eddie Cinco disagreed with the pastor's view of the cause of the storm.

"It was an act of God," he said, a silver crucifix hanging from his neck and a wound gradually healing on his right arm. "Only God is strong enough to do this."

Rubbing one of his bare feet, he said that God had perhaps decided to punish Tacloban, but he couldn't think why.

Cinco said that he was thankful that he and his six family members staying in the church had been spared, even if their home had been flattened.

In his prayers, he said, he asks for no more calamities.

The churches are doing their best to help the living, but the dead are not being afforded a great deal of dignity - despite the pastors' initial efforts.

Corpses have lined the streets here for days, festering in plain view. Many of them are now encased in body bags, and workers are gradually collecting them and moving them to an outdoor morgue.

In front of the Church of Our Mother of Perpetual Help on Friday, a row of body bags was being hauled onto the back of a truck. Last in line was a rudimentary coffin with a wooden cross leaning against it.

Determining that the coffin wouldn't fit on the truck, the workers picked up the wooden cross and used it to smash open the lid. They pulled out the decaying bodies of a young woman and an older man, loosely wrapped in plastic, and deposited them on the road.

In front of a growing crowd, many of whom covered their noses with their hands or shirts, the workers placed the corpses in body bags and added them to the pile on the truck.

On the outskirts of town, bodies that hadn't been claimed by relatives who had to examine corpse after corpse at the morgue near the city hall were being lumped into mass graves.

There was no sign of religious rites at the proceedings. But Mayor Alfred Romualdez said a priest would conduct a ceremony at the mass graves, once the national authorities had given their approval.

Such grim scenes remain harrowingly abundant in and around Tacloban. But Father Petilos urged people not to focus only on the misery.

"Even if we have this kind of situation, there is still hope," he said, noting that some families in the city had begun the long, slow process of rebuilding their lives.

"Yes, we may have been damaged," he said. "Devastated. But we're not dead."